World in $1.5tn 'plastics crisis' hitting health from infancy to old age, report warns

While plastic has many important uses, the most rapid increase has been in the production of single-use plastics, such as drinks bottles and fast-food containers. File picture

Plastics are a “grave, growing and under-recognised danger” to human and planetary health, a new expert review has warned. 

The world is in a “plastics crisis”, it concluded, which is causing disease and death from infancy to old age and is responsible for at least $1.5tn a year in health-related damages.